Which to use
“erstellten” and “erteilten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,327
- “erstellten” frequency rank
- #29,113
- “erteilten” frequency rank
- 51440
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstellten | erteilten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erstellt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erteilt |
Where the eye mixes erstellten and erteilten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erstellten runs 10 letters (VCCCVCCCVC) against erteilten's 9 (VCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erstellten with erteilten
A purely visual mix-up. erstellten ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛltn̩]) and erteilten ([ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯ltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51440, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstellten is recorded at frequency rank #22,327, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛltn̩]. erteilten is at rank #29,113, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯ltn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 51440, this pair ranks #1,135,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erstellten vs erteilten
Shared letters: elnrt. Private to "erstellten": s. Private to "erteilten": i.
"erstellten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC · "erteilten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erstellten ← errstellten · ersetllten · ersstellten · erstelletn · erstelltenn · erstelltne · erstelltten · erstelten
- erteilten ← eretilten · errteilten · erteiletn · erteillten · erteiltenn · erteiltne · erteiltten · erteitlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erstellten" for "erteilten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erstellten" or "erteilten" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstellten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erteilten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,135,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstellten" and "erteilten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstelle vs erstellten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,135,465 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.